LGL Health Unit to launch new respiratory illness dashboard

Beginning Tuesday, the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit is launching a new respiratory illness dashboard, which will continue to include information about COVID-19 in the community.

This new dashboard is more comprehensive, and will add information about other respiratory viruses such as influenza. The dashboard serves as an indicator of the level of risk in the community. The Respiratory Illnesses Dashboard will replace the COVID-19 Surveillance Report Dashboard and will continue to be posted on the Health Unit website by Noon every Tuesday.

Here are some of the differences with the new dashboard, per the LGL Health Unit:

- The dashboard now contains Influenza data in addition to COVID-19 data;
- The weekly interpretation is now called a Summary;
- The Summary page shows changes from the previous week plus trends over the past 12 months;
- Outbreaks (in high-risk settings such as long-term care homes, retirement homes, hospitals, and congregate living settings) and hospitalizations where reportable;
- A Syndromic Surveillance tab contains respiratory-related hospital visits and wastewater surveillance. Wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 involves testing for the presence of viral gene fragments that are shed by both asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals into municipal wastewater systems.  Monitoring wastewater for COVID-19 can be used as a tool for surveillance alongside other public health indicators to identify COVID-19 trends in the region and support mobilization of resources related to the COVID-19 response.

For the most up to date information on respiratory illness, visit: Respiratory Infections - Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit

With files from CFRA's Jack Richardson